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Demonstration at Sinclair ends in 4 arrests

Man accused of punching Sinclair officer gets out of jail

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By Angela Watson Gay, Staff Writer 10:58 PM Wednesday, May 20, 2009

DAYTON — Four people were arrested and one was given a citation Wednesday, May 20, after a demonstration at Sinclair Community College got out of hand.

Charles Gift, director of public safety for Sinclair Community College, said campus police received a call about noon from a student who said demonstrators were disturbing her.

Officers spoke to the group, Faithful Soldier School of Evangelism, a ministry of Mercy Seat Christian Church in Milwaukee, Wis.

“Sinclair has set procedures for anyone who wants to speak on campus,” Gift said Wednesday night. “It is a public campus and we welcome anyone who wants to come and speak. All they have to do is follow the procedure.”

Gift said two members of the group were disorderly when they were told they could stay on campus if they got rid of their signs and did not distribute literature unless someone asked for it.

The two, a male and a female, were arrested.

The other group members were allowed to remain on campus and continue their ministry. Gift said there wouldn’t have been any further problems if one of the males, identified as Jason Storms, director of Faithful Soldier, hadn’t approached an officer hours later.

Gift said the officer was leaving campus for the day and Storms persisted in asking him about the two group members who had been arrested. The officer went back into the police office and Storms followed. Once inside, he was cited for disorderly conduct.

Storms, reached by phone Wednesday night, maintained that he was simply trying to get information about those who had been arrested and the officer “flipped out on him.”

According to Gift, the officer — who was not identified by name — noticed that a female in the group was recording the incident on either a camera phone or video camera.

The officer asked her for the device so a copy of the incident could be made, Gift said. She ran, hiding behind another male in the group. Both the female and male refused to turn over the device and, according to Gift, the man punched the officer in the face.

The officer, with the help of another campus police officer, took the man who threw the punch to the ground and arrested him on charges of felony assault on an officer, obstructing official business and resisting arrest, Gift said.

Storms identified the man as Daniel Pollion, 28. He was in the Montgomery County Jail on Wednesday night.

Storms identified the female as Katie Carroll, 21, who was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and obstructing official business. She was released after posting bail, according to Storms.

Storms did not see what happened. He said witnesses deny there was any violence.

Gift said the group is “welcome back on campus as long as they follow procedures. We told (Storms) that after he was cited.”

The group had been at Sinclair in October. Gift said they were advised then that they — as does anyone who wants to demonstrate on campus with signs and literature — needed to apply for a permit. The group’s attorney was also made aware of this, he noted.

Storms insisted that Sinclair’s entire permit process is unconstitutional, and intends to challenge it.

“It requires advanced notification and that restricts spontaneous speech. And they can deny you. This has been ruled over and over again in court. Their policy is clearly an unconstitutional policy and it’s just a matter of challenging it. Then the question is ‘is your policy going to pass constitutional muster?’ ”

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2374 or anwatson@Dayton DailyNews.com.

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